Stardew Valley’s 1.5 update released late last year and was the game’s biggest yet. Mainly, it added the massive location of Ginger Island with its several quests and secrets. Ginger Island also contained a brand new dungeon,the Volcano Dungeon, and a remote farm on its western shore. But perhaps Ginger Island also overshadowed other aspects ofStardew Valley’s 1.5 updates, such as the Beach Farm layout.
As players are already finishing 1.5’s massive amount of content, and have tried expanding on the game’s experience in the way of mods likeStardew ValleyExpanded, many have been wondering if the game will ever get a 1.6 update. If it ever comes, it would be a long way out. Some signs point to the update never happening, but that doesn’t mean it never will.
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ConcernedApe’s Goal With Stardew Valley
As many know,Stardew Valleywas originally developed as a copycat of theoldHarvest Moongamesby developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone and his girlfriend. One of their biggest complaints with the series was that the game would end after a couple of short years, and the only way to keep playing was to start from scratch. But withStardew Valley, the fun never has to end as some players have even made it to their 20th year in Pelican Town.
So 1.5 being the “end” ofStardew Valleywouldn’t support this idea, but of course, the game can only be supported for a finite amount of time. Still, there are other games that have been around a lot longer and launch new content to this day, such asMinecraft. Based on what mods have come up with, like adding brand-new locations, there are still many ways thatStardew Valleycould be expandedin the future. But having created nearly the entire game by himself, the question is whether or not Barone wants more updates.
Evidence that Stardew Valley May Never Get a 1.6 Update
Back in September, in an interview with Game Informer, Barone said that he wasn’t “willing to commit” to aStardew Valley1.6 update. While this doesn’t rule out the possibility of a 1.6 update at some point in the future, it does mean that Barone doesn’t have anything lined up for it currently. It’s also worth pointing out what makesStardew Valleyfeel like it’s come to a definitive end in terms of updates.
The 1.5 update toStardew Valleyalso added the Perfection systemin addition to Ginger Island and the Beach Farm. This awards the player for completing the game at 100% by finishing certain tasks like catching every Legendary Fish. It would be strange to add another update, then add more requirements to the Perfection system as it wouldn’t translate well for those who have already reached the achievement prior and reaped the rewards. Additionally, Barone himself, along with some friends, reached Perfection in their own run ofStardew Valley, and they took a screenshot together with the end-game content that’s revealed when Perfection is reached. Without spoiling anything, this moment feels like a cherry on top, a conclusive ending to the game.
Stardew Valleyhas been quite a lot of work for Barone. The young developer created the game completely on his own, and it’s only been in more recent years that he’s had to hire outside help, such as for the Multiplayer Update and porting1.5 to mobile devices, which is still in the works. It would be quite a lot of work on his part to put together a 1.6 update forStardew Valley. While it may happen at some point, it’s possible that 1.5 is the final update toStardew Valley.
Stardew Valleyis out now for Mobile, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
